The refrain is familiar: “That’s his first mistake of the night,” a
commentator will claim when a player perceived to be faring well makes an
error in the later stages of a game. It often feels as if this statement is
not even close to the truth, but merely reflects a desire to fit that
incident — the mistake — into a nice, understandable, overall story.

When Stevan Jovetic, of Manchester City, was booked for diving after an hour
of the FA Cup win over Chelsea, the cry went up: “Just one blot on his
copybook tonight, the only one.”